


Bonus Material

by lillyluna



Category: Sports RPF, Swimming RPF
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, M/M, blurbs, not edited
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-29
Updated: 2013-12-29
Packaged: 2018-01-06 15:58:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1108750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lillyluna/pseuds/lillyluna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bits and pieces of fic that don't fit in anywhere else. Some are blurbs that either didn't make the final cut of All The Way Home or Drop The World others are just ideas that never went anywhere. Some bits are 6 lines long others are over 500 words.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bonus Material

**Author's Note:**

> Like the summary said, this is kind of all over the place. There's a brief description before each part to give you some kind of guidance about where it belongs. It's definitely all unfinished work. I just thought it was better here than lost somewhere in my word files. I can probably do another one if this is a hit.
> 
> Thank you so much for all your support, I hope you have a great New Year. 
> 
> If reading this is going to make you angry, just go take a walk. Get out. 
> 
> None of this is real, clearly.
> 
> **The formatting is killing me today I apologize**

**Shaun White.** **Somehow I have a ton of blurbs trying to work Shaun White into Phlochte. Here are a few tries.**

  **Ryan gets jealous**

  
 “Oh yeah,” Ryan says sarcastically, “When Shaun skateboards it’s cool, when I skateboard I’m a moron. Whatever dude.”

 “That’s not a good look Reez.”

 “What?”

  **Michael learns to snowboard**

  
 “Ok so pretty standard.” Shaun waves his hand towards the snowboard Michael is still awkwardly holding next to him. “We’ll take these to the top and then go from there. Stay on your heels, you don’t want to catch a toe edge and bail out.

 “I got like two of those things.” Michael tries not to panic because Shaun looks so… unworried. “Stay on my heels, what’s a toe edge?”  
 

“D’you ever skateboard?”  
   
“No.”  
   
“Oh… D’you ever surf?”  
   
“No. I go under water. Like” Michael moves his hand along in a piss poor mime of a swimmer trying anything to get that look off Shaun’s face.  
   
“D’you ever ski?” Shaun bites his lip.  
   
“No.” Michael starts to feel a bit hopeless.  
   
“Ok good. Good. It’s nothing like skiing.” Shaun nods enthusiastically, “It’s a start.”  
 

  
**Ryan dates Shaun? I can't remember what was going on here.**

  
“My room, naked. Be there.” Ryan catches Shaun backstage at the aquatic centre. With just a towel around his waist he pushes him against a door and kisses him quickly.  
   
Shaun can feel Ryan’s hard on pressed against stomach “My room, I’ll never get in the village.”  
   
“Jeah!” Ryan pulls away grinning, showing off the grill he knows Shaun finds ridiculous “Just be naked son.”  
   
Shaun feels stupid sitting around his hotel suite naked waiting for Ryan who never said at what time he was coming over. He’s tried calling him but the line is forever busy and then his calls start going straight to voicemail.  
   
Finally around eleven someone bangs on his door once, then twice and a short time later a third time. The last bang is followed by an even louder sing-song voice  
   
“HOOOONEEEEYYY, I’M HOOOME.” The loud sing-song voice follows the last knock.  
   
Shaun answers the door and there’s Ryan; still wearing his grill and a pair of ridiculous sunglasses with his name written on one lens and the American flag on the other. He’s grinning from ear to ear and wearing  
   
“Aw man, I said be naked.” Ryan’s grin fades to a pout the second he lays eyes on Shaun, “What’s the point of having a gold medal if no one does what you fucking tell them.”  
   
“I felt dumb just sitting naked. You took so long.”  
   
“Baby don’t be mad. Just get naked.”  
   
“You smell like chlorine”  
   
“When do I not smell like chlorine bro? I’ve smelled like chlorine every day since I was like five. My cum probably fucking tastes like chlorine.”  
   
“It doesn’t?” Shaun replies awkwardly, “but seriously, you make everything I own smell like chlorine. I smell like chlorine”  
   
“You smell like me, that’s hot.”  
   
 **Michael learns to snowboard part 2.**  
 They’re eating breakfast when Fed Ex shows up with an insane amount of sponsor boxes.  
   
“You go.” Ryan yawns, “I just got up.”  
   
“I’m not wearing pants.” Michael points out.  
   
“I will bet money whoever’s there seen you without pants on. Go.” Ryan gestures at the door with his spoon dripping milk everywhere. “Plus it’s your house.”  
   
“Rock, paper, scissor it.” Michael decides, “Come on the dude is waiting.”  
   
“It might be a chick. Who’s like… ready to like.”  
   
“On three dude,”  
   
“No.” Ryan throws down his spoon and milk splashes all around his bowl, “If that’s a hot chick, I need to be there. You won’t be able to talk to her into a three-“  
   
“Jesus Ry.”  
   
“Mike?”  
   
“What the fuck’s Burton?”  
   
“Uh?” Michael looks out from the kitchen, “It’s just sponsor-“  
   
“What’s Burton though?” Ryan holds up a box with a square arrow on it, “Are they new?”  
   
“It’s a snowboarding company.”  
   
“First golf then snowboard? You’re fucking retired MP, how are you going to snowboard you’re too-“  
   
“They’re from Shaun.”  
   
“Shaun?”  
   
“Shaun White?”  
   
“The ginger who brought the super model to-“  
   
“Dude.” Michael rolls his eyes, “You know who Shaun White is.”  
   
“Yeah but how do you know Shaun White? Why is he sending you shit?”  
   
“We text, like I said it be cool to snowboard and he was like yeah so we were going to hook up.”  
   
“You text Shaun White?”  
   
“Yeah dude.”  
   
“He texts you back?”  
   
“Like… Four times and then-“ Michael groans,  
   
“So you’re best friends now?” Ryan mumbles, “Like he’s super cool because-“  
   
“Are you…” Michael grabs Ryan’s arm, “Fucking jealous?”  
   
“Of a ginger, fuck no. I’m like a foot taller than him.”  
   
“You are.” Michael laughs at him, “You’re jealous of-“  
   
“Shut up.” Ryan shoves at him, “You’d get jealous too.”  
   
“He’s not gay so-“  
   
“Didn’t he get arrested?” Ryan pulls out his phone and starts typing something, “Yo he totally dude. Punched a dude in the face when he was drunk and-“  
   
“Who cares?”  
   
“He’s a bad influence MP.”  
   
“You’re a bad influence.” Michael tells him.  
   
“Yeah no.” Ryan plays with the tape on one of the boxes  
 

  
**Ditch Day. This one didn’t end up working out because of the actual age difference between Talan and Oliver. For this to work, Talan had to be a few years older.**

  
 “These printed materials were legal documents, magazines, newspapers and many other types of paper used throughout the colonies. Like previous taxes, the stamp tax had to be paid in valid British currency, not in colonial paper money.”   
   
“Fuck my life dude.” Talan groans to his friend Andrew. He slithers lower in his seat and loosens his uniform tie. He throws his pen down; the page of his notebook is covered in an intricate sketch of a naked girl instead of notes on the Stamp Act.  
   
“B’s for basketball man.” Andrew says. He picks Talan’s pen up and puts it back in his hand. “Write instead of drawing porn jerk.”  
   
“-Was not limited to the colonies. British merchants and manufacturers, whose exports to the colonies were threatened by colonial economic problems exacerbated by the tax, also pressured Parliament. The Act was repealed on March 18, 1766 as a matter of-“  
   
“Excuse me?” Oliver raps at the door.  
   
Oliver hasn’t even qualified for the Olympic team yet but around school he’s still some kind of rockstar. ESPN’s already been filming at their school and Oliver’s already done a cover shoot for Sports’ Illustrated. The girls in the class sit up straighter and run hands through their hair. Oliver winks at a blonde one two seats ahead of Talan.  
   
“Yes Oliver?” The teacher stops lecturing, “How can I help you?”  
   
“I’m sorry to bother you.” Oliver grins and Talan wants to roll his eyes, “But I came to get Talan. Mrs. Keller is too busy at the office to page she said I could just come to get him. Dentist appointment.” He waives the magic pink dismissal slip.  
   
“Talan?” The teacher looks around the class looking for him and Talan gets the feeling that teachers never have to look around a class to find Oliver.  
   
“Right here.” He raises his hand.  
   
“He should take his things.” Oliver points out, “We’re not coming back.”  
   
*  
“You’re welcome by the way.” Oliver tells him.  
   
“For taking me to the dentist? Why isn’t dad-“  
   
“Are you actually dumb? I thought you just didn’t give a fuck.” Oliver reaches over Talan, pulls on his seat belt and buckles it. “We’re not going to the dentist Baby, we’re going to the beach.”  
   
“I have a paper-“  
   
“Fuck your paper.” Oliver shoulder checks before backing up, “I’ll write your paper.”  
   
“I have my car.”  
   
“I’m not driving in your gross car.”  
   
“Well see.” Ryan drops an arm around Oliver’s shoulders, “The school figured seniors weren’t coming back but Talan isn’t a senior and you didn’t sign him out for the afternoon so they called us. Rookie mistake Gator. Busted.”  
   
“He said we were going to the dentist.” Talan mumbles from the crook of his elbow, “Lied, trusted him.”  
   
 **This might be in All The Way Home, I can’t remember.**  
“Where’s my passport?”  
   
It’s six in the morning and Michael knows he should have looked for his passport the night before but Ryan had distracted him by walking through the kitchen naked. Now Michael sees that it had been a ruse. His flight leaves in five hours and he needs to know where Ryan’s hidden his passport now.  
   
Ryan is still asleep with the blankets pulled high over his head and Carter settled over his feet. The dog opens his eyes first, considers Michael and goes back to sleep with a sigh. Ryan however is still dead to the world.  
   
“Ryan.” Michael says firmly, “Where’s my passport.”  
   
Ryan groans at him and flips over on his stomach, Carter stretches out and rests his head on Ryan’s back.  
   
“I have to go Ry, where d’you put my passport?” Michael repeats

  
   
 **All The Way Home scraps. This was when Ryan was transfered back to Florida before I decided he'd be cleared to outpatient rehab.**

  
“Fuck this shit no.” Ryan picks up his backpack, “This is another fucking hospital. I’m not fucking staying.”  
   
“You don’t have a choice Ry.” Michael tries to say  
   
“YOU CAN’T” Devon yells at him, “YOU’RE FUCKING HURT. YOU CAN’T GO HOME RYAN.”  
   
“FUCK YOU.” Ryan gets in Devon’s face  
   
Michael steps between them, more to protect Devon than to protect Ryan  
   
“FUCK YOU TOO ASSHOLE.” Devon yells over Michael’s shoulder, “All we’re doing is trying to help you, you can’t fucking go home Ry. What are you going to do? Pull down all the shades and chill in a chair in the dark forever? You’re awake and you’re walking and you remember shit and that’s awesome, like we’re so fucking grateful for that but you’re not okay.”  
   
“I DON’T WANT TO STAY HERE.”  
   
“LISTEN TO YOURSELF DUDE.” Devon’s reached his breaking point, “If you want your life back, like anything that was your life before you gotta stay here. You’re not better-“  
   
“STOP TALKING!”  
   
“Ry.” Michael puts a hand on his chest.  
   
“NO!”  
   
“Babe.”  
   
“You fucking lied to me.”  
   
“No one lied to you Ry.” Devon tries again, “You can’t go home.”  
   
“I’m a fucking adult.” The fight seems to have gone out of Ryan, “I don’t want to be here.”

   
 **Harry Potter?**

  
“Yo, like wizards and shit.” Ryan babbles on, “And there’s this other guy who’s a wizard too but he’s not like… alive just kind of this… I don’t know dude… Shit is whacked but fuck… and like the chick is totally in love with the other guy but he’s too stupid to like see it and his parents are dead and like died for him and-“  
   
“I know the plot to Harry Potter Ry.”  
   
“But like you don’t because I thought I did and like-”  
   
“You need a hobby.”  
   
“I’m sick.”  
 

  
**Car accident. I think I read an article about the most deadly intersection in America and one of them was located in Gainesville. This was before I'd figured out where the family was going to live. I think having both their dudes in the same car crash would be more than Ryan or Michael could deal with.**

“Car accident? Which one?”  
   
“Both.” Ryan’s hands shake too hard to grab his keys, “Ols was driving and they got t-boned going through 34th ave and 39th street. They’re both on their way to Shands…”  
   
“Are they okay?” Michael’s never felt terror like this, “If they’re on their way to Shands… How?”  
   
“I don’t know… They just said to get there I couldn’t-“  
   
Talan drags his feet as he walks into the waiting room and Ryan notices his son isn’t wearing shoes. He’s wearing sweat pants Ryan is sure come from Oliver’s swim bag and his left wrist is encased in bright green fiberglass up a few inches past his elbows.  
   
“Dad said you’d be here.”  
   
“Hey Baby.” Ryan kisses Talan’s head, “How’re you feeling?”  
   
“Bad.” Talan admits. He sits next to Ryan on the couch and pulls a blanket over himself, “Migraine.”  
   
“Where are your glasses?”  
   
“Broke.” Talan points to a cut just below his eye.  
   
“So you can’t see, dude that can’t be helping your head.” Ryan groans. He massages the back of his son’s neck trying to ease out the knots.  
   
“I just wanna sleep.”  
   
“How’s your arm?”  
   
“Hurts.” Talan holds up his arm.  
   
“Your fingers are swollen.” Ryan takes the bright green cast in his hands gingerly. He strokes Talan’s fingers with his thumb. “Do you have pain meds?”  
   
“You ask a lot of questions.” Talan complains.  
   
Talan pulls the hood of his hoodie over his head and down over his eyes. There’s a pillow next to Ryan on the couch and Ryan offers it to him.  
   
“Try to sleep.” Ryan tells him, “I’ll ask the questions to your dad.”  
   
“Can you keep rubbing my neck?” Talan asks, he plops the pillow down on Ryan’s lap and leans his head on it, “It helps my head.”  
   
“Yeah.” Ryan grabs his own hoodie from the floor and bundles it up before putting it under Talan’s broken arm. “Prop your arm up Baby, I’m worried about your fingers.”  
   
Having one kid back feels better than having two kids injured in different wings of the hospital and Ryan finds himself saying a silent prayer that both of them are still alive and that Talan is through the worst of it.  
   
“My head really hurts dad.”  
   
“I know.” Ryan rubs Talan’s neck with one hand and cups the other one over his son’s eyes, “Try to sleep… Tell me if your cast feels tight okay?”  
   
Talan doesn’t talk again and his breathing slowly evens out. Ryan fixes his blanket, carefully taking his broken arm and propping it up higher. He pushes Talan’s curls away from the stitches on his forehead and gently rubs the pads of his fingers against Talan’s temple.  
   
“Good he found you.” Michael whispers in relief when he spots Talan, “I was scared… Is he okay?”  
   
“He has a migraine and his fingers are super swollen… “  
   
“Concussion. Whiplash. His wrist is set and it’s normal for it to swell.” Michael explains.  
   
“He doesn’t have glasses, it’s making his head worst.”  
   
“They broke I told them to throw them out. I thought the glass in them was shatterproof you know? He has cuts from them on his face. It could have gotten into his eyes. I’m going to complain.”  
   
“He just needs to see, his head won’t feel better unless.”  
   
“Is he sleeping?”  
   
“Yeah. He fell asleep right away.”  
   
“They said the pain killers would knock him out for awhile.”  
“We’ll phone it in, do you have old ones at home Tal?”  
   
“Yeah.”  
   
“Did they give Baby painkillers?” Ryan asks when Michael walks into the waiting room, “  
   
“Um yeah.” Michael shuffles around the papers in his hands to hold up a prescription, “Heavy stuff too does he need it?”  
   
“He’s hurting pretty bad.”  
   
   
   
 **Amnesia. While Talan only received minor injuries from the accident, Oliver was seriously injured and suffered from amnesia. Most of it wasn't written apart from emails, but this is what I had.**  
 

“Two things." Oliver says standing in the kitchen, "First I don’t know which bedroom I’m suppose to sleep in and two can you make this dog stop following me, he’s freaking me out.”  
   
“Gator, that’s Bert." Ryan says pointing to the chocolate lab who's glued to Oliver's side, "He’s yours.”  
   
“You said my name was Oliver.”  
   
“It is.”  
   
“Why d’you call me Gator?”  
  *****  
 The morning after their fight, Talan goes to see Oliver and he like reaches out for his elbow and goes: “I know you don’t like remember who I am but I love you and I understand that it’s hard and we’re cool. I’m sorry I scared you Ols. It’ll get better.”  
   
Oliver looks at him hard and looks down at his hand and finally admits, “I can’t remember your name. I know we’re like…”  
   
“Brothers. I’m Talan.”  
   
Oliver takes the name in and then goes: “No… I don’t call you Talan… What do I call you?”  
   
“Baby.”  
   
Talan takes amnesia!Oliver by the hand when they’re in public and he takes him to high school and he takes him to the pool and he takes him to where they go for pizza and he talks his dads into going to New York for a weekend because Oliver needs to be in New York to remember and he googles stuff and tries it out and one morning at breakfast Oliver begs Ryan to just keep the kid away from him.  
   
 **When Ryan's father is dying.**  
 Ryan looks awful.

  
The hospital lights enhance the gauntness of his face and the circles under his eyes. He's wearing the same shirt he was wearing yesterday and there's a coffee stain in the middle of his chest. He's unshaven and Michael hugs him.

He drops Oliver on the couch and wraps his arms around Ryan. Ryan doesn't hug him back at first.  
 

  
**After the funeral**

“I know I don’t like understand…” Michael says, “But like when my dad left sometimes it felt like he was dead because I knew he wouldn’t come back and I’m not saying it’s the same but I know what it’s like to lose a dad Ry.”  
 

**Oliver breaks his arm in some fic but he’s too old in this one for it to match up.**

Oliver walks slowly.  
   
He takes one tiny teetering step forward, his weight rocking back on his left foot before testily shifting to the toe of his right foot. He shifts his weight again and takes another step forward, testing out his new skill. He sways a bit with both of his arms swinging forward, one tiny little hand trying to grab onto air and another arm casted in blue fiberglass following along.  
   
“Careful Gator.” Ryan reaches one hand down to brace against Oliver’s chest.  
   
Ryan’s right behind Oliver, he’s forced to take mini half steps to keep pace and has to bend halfway down to steady him.  
   
“Guess who officially graduated physio.”  
   
“Dude Gator that’s awesome!” Ryan high fives him, “Way to go buddy.”  
   
“J-ah!” Oliver grins back at Ryan, “I got ‘toos!”  
   
“Tattoos.” Michael explains. He lifts up the sleeves of Oliver’s shirt to show Ryan the two temporary tattoos on Oliver’s lower arms.  
   
“He got two?”  
   
“Yeah ‘cause he flirts.”  
   
“Wanna jump in?” Ryan encourages, “I’ll catch you.”  
   
“Don’t.” Michael pleads, “I don’t have time to go home and change him before we have to get on the jet.”  
   
“This sucks.” Ryan kisses Oliver’s hand before pressing his lips to the side of his head. “I wanna go.”  
   
“We take Daddy.” Oliver squeezes Ryan’s face between his hands and looks at Michael, “Daddy comes.”  
   
“Daddy can’t come Ols. It’s just us.”  
 

**The Four Times Devon Lochte is a bad babysitter, the one time he isn’t… Or you know the half finished story.**  
   
1.  
   
The day Oliver is born Ryan calls Michael first and Devon second. He hits the speed dial for Devon without even thinking that maybe his mom should have been next on the list.  
   
“How’s the snow bitch?” Devon answers all carefree, “We’re heading surfing sucka.”  
   
“Too busy holding my kid to-“  
   
“Shut the fuck up!”  
   
“Godfathers don’t talk like that De-“  
   
“Shut the fuck up serious.”  
   
“Want to ditch surfing and get on a plane?”  
   
*  
   
“Get his head!”  
   
“Dude I’ve held babies before, chill. We have the same nephews.” Devon sits back on the couch and seriously studies Oliver’s face, “Have you guys figured out who’s his like sperm dad?”  
   
“We don’t want to know”  
   
“He like doesn’t look like either of you, maybe they mixed it up with someone else’s spunk.”  
   
“Yo, don’t hurt his feelings.”  
   
“I’m making his life right now. Dude he’s so small.”  
   
“It’s because he was early, he’s long as fuck though. The doctor said he’d be crazy tall.”  
   
“He’s so fucking lucky dude.”  
   
2.  
   
Devon buys Oliver his first skateboard and teaches him to pop his first Ollie a few days short of his fifth birthday. He’s also responsible for Oliver’s first broken bone; his wrist two hours after when having mastered Ollies, Oliver insists on learning how to kickflip.  
   
“Your kickflips are fucking weak.” Ryan berates his brother, “why the fuck do you even –“  
   
“I kickflip a fucking thousand times better than your stupid ass so if someone in the family is quail-“  
   
“I’ve gotten this kid four years without breaking a bone I leave you with him for-“  
   
“No way, this is not my-“  
   
“Yeah dude, it –“  
   
“Oh fuck-“  
   
Ryan and Devon argue at a thousand miles an hour, neither of them ever gets to finish a sentence before being cut off.  
   
Michael’s not even sure why Devon’s in the car on the way to the ER with them or why he’s sitting in the passenger seat.  
   
“Who the fuck goes from an ollie to a kickflip?” Ryan’s sitting in the backseat keeping a very quiet and white faced Oliver’s arm elevated, “Stupidest fucking… kickturn or a manual woulda made more-“  
   
“Are you Tony Hawk,? Who’ve you taught-“  
   
“You dumbshit.” Ryan reaches forward to smack the back of Devon’s head.  
   
“You just said I sucked so-“  
   
Michael’s pretty sure that they’re not even listening to each other, they’re just both trying to get their side of the story out as quickly as possible even though no one’s listening to it but themselves.  
   
“TIME.” Michael yells because he’s heard these fights go on for hours over the phone, “We have a four year old in the car.” He tries to remind them, “So maybe the swearing can like stop?”  
   
“Shit sorry.” Devon says  
   
“that’s still fucking swearing.” Ryan snaps at him  
   
“So’s that fuckhead.”  
 

**Pneumonia. The first part of this is in Oliver Is.**  
 

  
They start Oliver out with an oxygen tube and after his oxygen levels don’t improve they switch him to a mask.  
   
Oliver sleeps through most of the day and by suppertime someone has to go feed and walk the dogs. Michael volunteers because he knows Ryan won’t leave.  
   
Oliver wakes up when the nurse comes to check his vital signs and to take more blood.  
   
“Don’t look at the needle,” Ryan turns Oliver’s face away from the needle expecting the usual freak out but Oliver just closes his eyes again. Ryan keeps his hand on the side of Oliver’s face. Oliver flinches when the needle pricks him and Ryan strokes his cheek, “She’s almost done Ols, you’re doing good.”  
   
“It’s over hun.” The nurse presses a cotton ball on his arm, “We’re just going to run these to the lab. Your fever’s down so these antibiotics are working, they’re going to be coming around with dinner trays soon, are you hungry?”  
   
Oliver shakes his head.  
   
“His dad, I mean his other dad is going to bring him food when he comes back.” Ryan tells her.  
   
“There’s jello and applesauce in the kitchen if he feels like eating.”  
   
“Hey kid.” Ryan squeezes Oliver’s leg once the nurse leaves his room, “Stay awake for a second k?”  
   
Oliver groans and pulls at his oxygen mask.  
   
“Don’t take it off, you need that,” Ryan takes Oliver’s hand away from the mask and puts it back down by his side, “The nurses will get mad at you.”  
   
“This sucks.” Oliver curls back into a ball facing Ryan; his voice is wrecked. “I’m sick.” He grips Ryan’s hand.  
   
“I know kid, they didn’t just put you up in here for a vacation.”  
   
“I’m dying.”  
   
“You’re not dying.” Ryan laughs, “You just gotta get better. Here, sit up if you’re awake. They said you’d have an easier time breathing.”  
   
“Where’s dad?” Oliver asks suddenly noticing there’s only one person by his bed.  
   
“Just out back smoking.” Ryan jokes  
   
Oliver laughs and his laugh turns into a cough and it doesn’t stop. The heart rate monitor beeps faster and Oliver pulls the mask away from his face. He hugs himself tight holding his ribs.  
   
“Fuck… Ow.” He breathes out once the coughing stops.  
   
“Breathe Ols.” Ryan rubs Oliver’s side, “It’s okay.” He puts the oxygen mask back over his son’s face.  
   
Oliver grabs on to the sleeve of Ryan’s shirt, “It hurts, fix it.”  
   
“Gator,” Ryan doesn’t know what to do, “You can’t have more pain meds, they stop you from coughing.”  
   
“Coughing’s what hurts.”  
   
“There’s nothing I can do.” Ryan says and it kills him, “Do you want to sit up? It’s easier to breathe if you’re sitting up.”  
   
“I don’t want to move.” Oliver doesn’t let go of Ryan’s sleeve.  
   
“Then don’t kid.” Ryan runs his hand through Oliver’s hair, “Your fever’s gone down, you should sleep better.”  
   
“Where’s dad?” Oliver asks again, knowing that out of the two Michael’s more likely to go harass someone for more pain medication.  
   
“He went to walk the dogs and pick you up some food. Your grandma made you soup.”  
   
“Not hungry.” Oliver coughs, “Help me up.”  
   
“Hold up.” Ryan grabs the bed controls, “I’ll just move your bed-“  
   
“No!” Oliver protests, “Don’t touch.” He hits Ryan’s hand as hard as he can.  
   
“Really?” Ryan holds on to Oliver’s hand, “You think that was a good idea?”  
   
“It hurts to move.” Oliver whines, “Don’t mess with it.”  
   
“Trust me kid.” He lets Oliver’s hand go, “I’ll move it up and you just go along with it.”

  
   
 **Talan’s a bad driver.**

  
“He’s not answering his phone.” Ryan hangs up frustrated, “What the fuck it’s 2am.”  
   
“Who?” Michael sits up in bed and squints at the light Ryan’s just opened.  
   
“Our jerk ass kid, he’s not back home.”  
   
“Tal’s not back?” Michael’s more awake. “His curfew is at-”  
   
“Yeah, I know. He’s not back.” Ryan says again, “He’s not answering his phone.”  
   
“Wasn’t he with Brady?”  
   
“I called them. Brady got back an hour ago. Dev was really stoked he had his kid but that ours was still-“  
   
“Dad?” Talan’s sobbing,  
   
“What’s wrong Tal?” Michael reaches in his pockets for his car keys and makes his way to the garage, “Where are you? Are you okay?”  
   
“My… car… fucking cat… I tried to… it just… fucking lamp post… police…”  
   
“Slow down bud.”  
   
“A fucking cat jumped… I tried to stop and a lamp post and just fucking totaled the-“  
   
“Tal. Are you okay?”  
   
*  
   
“I wrecked my car.” Tal hangs his head  
   
“No one gives a fuck about the car.” Michael says, “Are you okay?” Talan’s lip is busted and a gash right above his eyebrow is stitched up.  
   
“The airbag got my face. My ribs hurt.”  
   
“Are they broken?” Michael’s hand reaches for Talan’s side and gently rests against his t-shirt.  
   
“No, just bruised.” Talan sniffs and leans his head on Michael’s shoulder, “From the seat belt.”  
   
“You’re okay bud.” Michael hugs him, “Let me just talk to the doctor and we’ll get you home.”  
   
“I killed the fucking cat.” Talan’s voice catches, “I saw it…”  
   
*  
   
“Here.” Ryan hands the keys to Talan, “You’re driving us home.”  
   
“No.” Talan doesn’t reach up to grab the keys.  
   
“You gotta drive right away kid.”  
   
“He’s hurt Ry.”  
   
“He doesn’t have a concussion, they didn’t give him meds, he’s fine to drive home.  
   
“Baby.” Ryan puts his hand over Talan’s, “Stop for a sec.” He uses his other hand to wipe the tears running down Talan’s face carefully brushing over his black eye. “Look, you don’t have to go over 40 if you don’t want to. We won’t make fun of you. Just drive out of the parking lot and if you’re still freaking out we’ll switch.”  
 

  
**This should have been included in Talan Is**

  
“It doesn’t feel any different.” Ryan says after awhile, he strokes Talan’s curls with the tips of his fingers and presses his lips against the baby’s cheeks.  
   
“Mmm?” Michael looks up from the forms he’s signing.  
   
“I thought it would feel different because he’s mine you know? I was worried about it but this Turkey feels the same.”

  
   
 **Sometime After Ols is born**

  
Ryan sits on the marble island of their kitchen filling the bottle sanitizer and fiddling with the top to get it to close. He stops once Michael comes into the room holding the baby monitor.  
   
Michael sets it on the counter next to Ryan and turns to reach for the casserole dish his mother had dropped off earlier.  
   
“Hey,” Ryan grabs Michael’s shirt. “C’mere.”  
   
“Dude.” Michael groans but he turns back around to face Ryan, “I just want to eat.”  
   
“Hold up,” Ryan pulls Michael closer and wraps his legs around his waist, “he’s sleeping. We’re both awake…” He raises an eyebrow.  
   
They haven’t had sex in a month and a half. Oliver sleeps for a maximum of half an hour at a time and when he’s asleep they usually follow suit.  
   
“I’m gross.” Michael pushes a hand against Ryan’s stained t-shirt, “You’re gross too… That’s puke.”  
   
“We’ll do it in the shower.” Ryan tries to sound seductive but yawns his way through the last few words.  
   
“It’s not even worth it.” Michael moves away from Ryan to grab a plate.  
   
“What?!” Ryan cries out, “Did you just really-“  
   
“I didn’t mean it that way Ry.” Michael slams the plate down too hard, “Fuck I don’t have… I’m too tired-“  
   
“What’s not fucking worth it? Me?”  
   
“Don’t.”  
   
“You don’t.”  
   
“The baby’s gonna wake up in like… fifteen minutes.” Michael says dejected. “Whatever we start we won’t get to finish. Dude I just want to eat and like sit down and change my shirt. I don’t want to have sex.”  
   
They stare at each other across the kitchen, Michael pleading Ryan to understand and Ryan just looking hurt. They’re both unshaven and wearing the same clothes they’d worn to bed the night before. There are pizza boxes on the counter and take out containers precariously balancing on top of the full garbage can. There’s a laundry pile stacking up next to the stairs and unopened baby gifts near the door. Their house and their lives are in total chaos all because of a six-pound baby.  
   
“I still want you.” Ryan struggles to say.  
 

  
**Haney Project. Someone in the new Ficaton posted a prompt about Ryan showing up to surprise Michael in Mexico. Ball jokes are as far as I got.**  
 

  
“It can't be that hard bro, it's just hitting balls.”  
   
“There was a lot of balls.”  
   
“Yeah I bet.” Ryan raises an eyebrow suggestively and laughs.  
   
“Why are you here?” Michael rolls his eyes and reaches for the water bottle beside Ryan. He downs most of it while looking at Ryan.  
   
“S'cold in Florida? That has my germs on it.” Ryan points to the bottle.  
   
Michael puts the bottle back down and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.

  
   
 **This summer I had great plans of making like a series of Phelps-Lochte family vacation fics. This is the only one I wrote though, it could probably stand alone but it doesn’t really have an end or a story line so it’s mostly just a blurb. Brady and Talan should both be three in this. Brady is just a few months younger than Tal.**  
 

  
“Baby, wait.” Ryan stops Talan from running his third lap around the table of the restaurant by the beach. He grabs Talan by the sleeve of his dark t-shirt and pulls him in closer.  
   
Talan stumbles a bit and whines. He twists his upper body trying to shake off Ryan’s grip.  
   
“Yeah I know.” Ryan sympathizes. He takes a hair elastic from his wrist and quickly pulls half of Tal’s hair up, “There you’re done.”  
   
“How d’you do that so fast?” Michael asks, he takes Talan’s smoothie and hands it down for him to grab as he runs by him, “Dude you gotta finish your breakfast sit we don’t run with straws in our mouths.”  
   
“I dunno, practice.” Ryan shrugs, “I did it to my hair.”  
   
“Yeah I remember.” Michael smiles letting his mind wander back to times when Ryan had long hair.  
   
“I’m not growing it back dude, sorry.” Ryan laughs at the look on Michael’s face.  
   
They’re on vacation at a rented beach house where the rest of Ryan’s family comes and goes. With everyone there for the weekend the house had been busy and they’d escaped with Talan for breakfast before meeting back up with everyone else at the beach. Oliver had been too busy playing to go with them.  
   
Michael pulls Talan back up in his booster seat and hands him back the pieces of toast and the plastic cup with the straw. He sits back in his chair and takes a sip of iced coffee; he runs his foot against Ryan’s leg.  
   
“Hot Daddy.” Talan complains, “I’m hot.”  
   
It’s not even ten and already the temperature is in the high nineties. Talan is pushing curls off his forehead. He touches the top that’s pulled up and looks at Ryan confused.  
   
“I put it up Baby.” Ryan laughs at him.  
   
“Put it all up.” Talan requests.  
   
“ Don’t think that’s gonna work.” Ryan grabs the back of Talan’s chair and swings it around so he can reach him.  
   
Talan sits patiently while Ryan fiddles with his hair. He lets Michael feed him two bites of toast and drinks part of his smoothie.  
   
“Best I could do Pal.” Ryan says and he smoothes his hand over the top of Talan’s head.  
   
“Too tight.” Talan complains and his face scrunches up, “It hurts me.”  
   
“It’s gotta be tight if you want your hair up.” Ryan tries to explain, “Want me to take it out?”  
   
“Yes.” Talan says. He puts his own toast crumb covered hand into his hair to tug on the elastic.  
   
Talan doesn’t usually complain this much about anything and Michael frowns at him while Ryan patiently redoes their four year old’s hair. Once he sees Michael frowning, Talan frowns back. Tiny little worry lines etch themselves in the skin of his tanned forehead.  
   
“Don’t do that Baby.” Michael leans forward to kiss the worry lines away, “You’re too little to be worried.”  
   
When Michael backs away he’s met with two pairs of identical blue eyes staring at him and even though Tal’s blonder and his nose isn’t exactly Ryan’s they look so much alike that Michael can’t help but smile. He picks Talan up off his booster seat and settles him on his lap.  
   
“I can surf today?” Talan asks, “Like Owiver?”  
   
Talan’s been begging to be allowed to surf for the past week, seemingly overlooking the fact that surfing involves getting into the water. Talan has yet to get more than his feet and ankles wet. He still refuses to get into any body of water long enough to learn to swim, something that sometimes keeps Michael up at night.  
   
“You know our deal.” Ryan answers. He tugs the elastic that’s back to holding only half of Talan’s hair a little to make it looser, “You learn to swim, you can surf.”  
   
“No. I gonna surf.” Talan tries to debate, “You swim.”  
   
“That’s not how it works.” Michael answers because Ryan has his mouth full of the breakfast he’d stopped eating to play hairdresser. “If you’re going to go in the water you have to be able to swim.”  
   
“You can swim?” Talan asks him seriously. He puts one hand on the side of Michael’s face and strokes the stubble of his beard. His little fingers reach up to curl around one of his ears.  
   
“Yeah Baby,” Michael tries not to laugh, “I can swim.”  
   
“Can Daddy swim?”  
   
“Not as good as me.” Michael announces seriously taking advantage of Ryan chewing. “But yeah he can.”  
   
Ryan kicks him under the table. Michael tries to kick him back but he hits the leg of Ryan’s chair instead sending it skidding back a few inches. Talan looks towards the noise and frowns at both of them, unimpressed by their behavior.  
   
“I don’t wanna swim.” He announces.  
   
“Then you can’t surf.” Ryan takes a drink of juice.  
   
“Owiver surfs.”  
   
“Oliver swims.”  
   
Talan stares at Ryan hard, trying to find a loophole out of the argument. Ryan wipes his mouth with a napkin and smiles at Talan.  
   
“I’ll teach you how to swim today Baby, it’s no big deal.” Ryan reassures him. “Then I’ll take you surfing.”  
   
Talan takes a sip of the smoothie Michael’s holding up to his mouth but his eyes never leave Ryan’s. He scrunches up his face and pushes the cup away from him once he’s done drinking and wipes his mouth with his hand before trying to wipe his hand on Michael’s shirt.  
   
*  
“It’s swimming lessons out back today.” Ryan tells Devon while he digs through a bag for kid-sized goggles, “Wanna throw in Brady and help out?”  
   
“Nah Buddy,” Devon’s already in board shorts and spraying sunscreen on his three year-old. “He knows how to swim, we’re gonna try skim boarding I promised.”  
   
“You taught him to swim?” Ryan asks incredulously.  
   
“Yeah dude, it’s important… How’s Tal doing?”  
   
“Alright.” Ryan lies, “Like I figure one more afternoon and he’s golden.”  
   
Devon just laughs and rubs a palm full of sunscreen on his son’s back ignoring his squirming.  
   
“So he like touches it now? Dude you don’t gotta lie if you need help just-“  
   
“I don’t need no help from you.” Ryan answers quickly, “I can teach my own kid to swim.”  
   
“Who’s gonna teach him to float though?” Devon teases.  
   
“Fu-“ Ryan starts to say before remembering the four year old attached to his leg and the three year old in Devon’s arms. He flips Devon off instead.  
   
“You guys are stressing the kid out.” Devon shakes his head, “If he wants to swim, he’s gonna swim. Just put a life jacket on him and go out. He’s gonna be safe with you.”  
   
“He might do it if he sees Brady do it.” Ryan suggest, “Like-”  
   
“I don’t know dude like I wanna help you out but.” Devon carefully rubs sunscreen on Brady’s face, “He may not wanna swim. Just bring him with us to the beach.”  
   
“Mike won’t let him if Tal can’t know the basics.” Ryan admits  
   
*  
“Ok look.”  
   
In the shallow end of the pool, Ryan has water up to his knees. He holds one of Talan’s hands while Talan stands on the top stair deciding if he enjoys being ankle deep in the water.  
   
“It’s water Baby.” Ryan cups a palm of it and lets it dribble down from his fingers, “It’s not gonna hurt you. I think it’s awesome.”  
   
Talan surveys him carefully his other little hand is still holding onto to Carter’s side. Talan knows Carter won’t ever go in the pool. He refuses to take another step down.  
   
Ryan carefully reaches for Talan’s hand and when he goes to grab it away from Carter, Carter turns his head towards and growls. The dog moves himself between Talan and Ryan, putting all four of his paws in the pool.  
   
“C’mon dude.” Ryan shoves at Carter lightly, “Not gonna drown him.”  
   
Carter reluctantly walks away from Talan and out of the pool to go lie down in a forgotten towel in the shade by the house.  
   
Talan lets Ryan take his other hand but he stays where he is, both little legs firmly leaning against the wall of the pool.  
   
Ryan’s frustrated. He thinks, for a second, of just grabbing Talan to force him into the water but Talan trusts him and Ryan can’t bring himself to be mean. Ryan thinks of the look Michael would give him if he found out and takes a deep breath.  
   
“One more step?” Ryan asks, “It’s for surfing.”  
   
“Ok.” Talan agrees still frowning, “One more step.”  
   
“Awesome.” Ryan lets Tal walk to the second step where he has water up to his knees.  
   
At this rate, it’s going to take Talan until lunchtime to get all the way in the pool and as much as he loves Talan, Ryan doesn’t have that kind of patience.  
   
“I’ll give you three Oreos if you get in.” Ryan bribes.  
   
“Four Oweos.” Talan corrects, “’Cause I’m four.”  
   
“Fine.” Ryan concedes, “Four oreos. Now you wanna jump?”  
   
“No.” Talan shakes his head. “No splashing.”  
   
“Then walk in Baby its just stairs I got you.”  
   
Talan takes one careful step down until he has water up to his hips. He stops and looks up at Ryan again unsure.  
   
“One more.” Ryan urges. “You have to get in up to your tummy.”  
   
“You get in to your tummy.” Talan demands.  
   
“Ok fine.” Ryan crouches in the water.  
   
“Keep bossing him around Tal.” Devon laughs from the edge of the pool a few feet away.  
   
Devon and Brady are wearing matching bright green board shorts. Brady has a blue rash guard shirt on and streaks of white sunscreen across his legs.  
   
“Shut up.” Ryan turns his head around to quiet Devon, “You’re not-“  
   
“That’s not nice.” Talan says gravely, staring at Ryan with wide eyes.  
   
Devon just laughs harder. He dips Brayden’s feet in the water and pulls him back out before dipping him all the way to his waist. Brayden has the same curly hair as Talan except his isn’t as long or as blond. His eyes are the same shade of blue and when they’re out together people often mistake them for brothers.  
   
“I know Baby, I’m sorry.” Ryan reaches for Talan and before the kid can think about it, he brings him in close to his chest and swims away carefully hanging on. “See this isn’t that bad.”  
   
Once Devon sees Talan in the water, he slips in and pulls Brady in with him. On top of Brady’s life jacket, he gives him a pool noodle to hold onto and he hands another one to Ryan for Talan.  
   
“See Tal, do what Brady’s doing… Just hang on and kick your feet.” Ryan encourages.  
   
Ryan settles both of Talan’s arms over the pool noodle and let’s go of one hand to hold Talan’s legs up.  
   
“Don’t le ‘go.” Talan cries out and his face crumples, “Daddy.”  
   
“I’m right here.” Ryan crouches in the water again and puts his face level to Tal’s. He walks backwards, pulling Tal forward, “Kick Baby come on. Like that! Yeah! Good boy!”  
 

  
**Biker Gang? This might still get written but I just wanted to put it here because I love it so much. The premise for this was someone make a derogatory comment towards the family while they’re out eating pizza one Friday night. It’s 100% unfinished and you get a sneak peak at how I share stuff with my fic yoda before I publish it anywhere.**  
 

  
"Oliver!" Ryan isn't quick enough to hold Oliver back. He watches his oldest son dart through the crowd to where the man in the hunter orange baseball cap and the camo shorts had sat down to eat his pizza.  
   
"What's he gonna do?" Talan turns around in their booth and gets up on his knees to look over the the fake wood planter separating the seats.  
   
"Sit down Talan." Michael pulls at his shirt, "Ryan-"  
   
But Ryan's already up walking through the crowd trying to catch up to Oliver.  
   
"You can't say that about my family." Oliver confronts the man, up close he sees he has a few inches over him and it gives him more confidence,"Take it back."  
   
Then the man would say something really vile that I don't care to type and Oliver would take a step closer and Ryan's five feet away when the guy swings at Oliver and Ryan has him by the shirt against the wall before he realizes he missed the kid.  
   
"You're gonna hit my kid motherfucker?" Like Ryan's pretty sure he's about to commit murder. "Oliver. Go."  
*  
   
"Holy fuck Mike drive." Ryan locks the doors to the car and shoots a worried glance through the rear window, "They're fucking running out DRIVE."  
   
"We're parked Ryan!" Michael snaps, "There's a fucking car I have to reverse. I'm... TALAN MOVE TO THE MIDDLE. OLIVER-"  
   
The first fist angrily hits the window where Talan had been sitting. Michael keeps reversing but five people crowd the car.  
   
"WE KNOW WHERE YOU FUCKING LIVE." One man yells through the glass, "Fucking regret this. WE'LL KILL YOUR KIDS."  
   
"Run them over." Ryan says coldly, "Fucking go faster Mike swear to god. DRIVE."  
   
"What do you think I'm doing Ryan. Are the-"  
   
"OLIVER GET DOWN. YEAH? I'LL FUCK YOU UP ASSHOLE." Ryan hits the window back, "COME NEAR MY KIDS AND-"  
   
"RYAN. STOP."  
   
"YOU'RE SCARING TAL." Oliver yells from the backseat, "STOP."  
   
"Christ get out from in front of the car." Michael honks hard, "Yeah you douchebag move."  
   
At this point there are police lights in the distance and the men probably disperse and Michael just leaves like he's not waiting to talk to the cops they did nothing wrong.  
   
"Is everyone okay?" Michael asks once they've put a few blocks between them and the restaurant, "Ry are you?"  
   
Ryan just nods.  
   
"Ols? Did you get hurt when you fell?"  
   
"No. I'm okay."  
   
"Tal?" Michael looks at both boys through the rearview mirror, "It's okay."  
   
"I don't wanna go home. We can't go home." Tal insists.  
 

  
**This was probable leftover from DTW**  
 

  
“Hey um.” Ryan’s voice is deeper than usual, he clears his throat and for the first time he sounds unsure, “Can I like… I wanna touch you.”  
   
“Yeah Ry.” Michael trusts up into his mouth without thinking. He rubs Ryan’s head with his thumb and pushes him forward. “Like that.”  
   
Michael realizes he’s no longer watching the porn playing on Ryan’s laptop, he’s focused entirely on Ryan’s face and the way the muscles in his back move.  
 


End file.
